Hinge for curved vehicle doors



Jan. 24, 1939. M. JACOB HINGE FOR CURVED VEHICLE DOORS Fild April 15, 1956 ATTORNEYS.

M m m m 77?. cfacob l6. MlSCELLM-IEOUS ilf-iiliiiam Patented Jan. 24, 1939- UNITED STATES Search Roar PATENT OFFICE HINGE FOR OURVED VEHICLE DOORS Max Jacob, Berlin-Oberschoneweide, Germany, assignmof one-half to Bruno Jacob, Berlin,

Germany Application April 15, 1936, Serial No. 74,574 In Germany September 19, 1935 3 Claim.

This invention relates to a hinge for curved vehicle doors, preferably the doors of motor vehicles, which is fully concealed, i. e., not visible from the outside or inside, when the door is closed.

Hinges of this type have been proposed already but not universally adopted, owing to their relatively complex design and imperfect operation, so that external hinges are still employed as a rule, notwithstanding their unsightly appearance.

The invention provides a concealed hinge which with respect to design and safe, advantageous operation avoids the defects of the known types.

The hinge according to the invention is operated on the principle of opening and closing a door not by rotation about a stationary axis but by causing displacement of the axis parallel to itself on a curved path during opening and closing in such manner that the axis disposed approximately in the central line of the wall thickness at the beginning of the opening motion will be finally positioned outside the outer door wall after describing this curved path. In this way the door can be clear of the rabbet, although the turning point is located within the upper part of the curved door.

Furthermore, the special construction of the new hinge insures great stability thereof and particularly prevents undesirable play in the hinge or hinges and tipping or tilting of the door.

Further features and advantages of the invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure l is an elevation of the hinge when open; Fig. 2 a longitudinal section of the hinge shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 a sectional view of the closed hinge.

Referring to the drawing, the hinge comprises I the three members a, b, c which are interconnected in the manner to be described below. The end member a is secured to the door frame and the intermediate member 0 is pivoted thereto at I. The other end member b is pivoted to the intermediatemember 0 at 2 and is also attached to the door.

To attain positive displacement of the axis parallel to itself during opening andclosing of a door provided with one or more, preferably two, hinges special linking means are employed which constantly and positively'move the middle of the intermediate hinge member outwardly during the opening operation. These means comprise a link (1 pivoted to the central axis 3 of the intermediate hinge member and connected at the pivots 4 and 5 with two additional links e and 1 respectively which are pivoted at 6 and l to the two side or attaching portions of the hinge. The flexible intermediate member formed by the three links d, e, f insures the guiding of the intermediate hinge member 0.

The axis about which the link d is rotatable on the intermediate member 0 is formed by a pin 9 firmly connected with the link. The pin g is-connected with one end of a spring h the other end of which is secured to the intermediate hinge member 0 by means of the pin 1'.

According to the side of the intermediate member to which one end of the spring 71. is attached, the latter, owing to the rotary motion of the pin 9 in the intermediate member 0, is tensioned either during the opening or the closing of the door. This arrangement serves for balancing the door. For example, if the door is secured by two hinges, the springs 71. are so arranged that the tension of one opposes the tension of the other. Thus, for instance, when the door is closed one spring, which may be termed the opening spring, is tensioned and the other, which may be termed the closing spring, is relaxed andupon release of the door lock, the tensioned spring exerts an initially strong influence upon the door. As the opening movement progresses, the tension of the opening spring decreases while the tension of the closing spring increases, reaching its maximum when the door is fully open. Thus, when closing the door, an initially strong closing influence is exerted thereon by the glosing spring? w The invention is not restricted to the embodiments shown and described and may be varied in many ways without departing from its scope. In particular, its application, as stated, is not limited to the doors of motor vehicles, but may be extended to all classes of vehicles and to airand watercraft whenever visible hinges are to be avoided.

I claim:-

1. A fully concealed hinge for vehicle doors comprising an intermediate hinge member and two end hinge members pivotally connected with the intermediate member and adapted for attachment, respectively, to the frame and door of a vehicle, an intermediate link pivoted medially to said intermediate hinge member, and end links pivotally connected with the ends of the intermediate link and with the end hinge members whereby during opening and closing movements of the door, the end hinge member movable with the vehicle door is positively guided in a curved path.

2. A fully concealed hinge for vehicle doors comprising an intermediate hinge member and two end hinge members pivotally connected with the intermediate member and adapted for attachment, respectively, to the frame and door of a vehicle, an intermediate link pivoted medially to said intermediate hinge member, and end links pivotally connected with the ends of the intermediate link and with the end hinge members, whereby at the beginning 0! the opening movement of the door the latter swings about the axis of the pivotal connection between the frame carried end hinge member and the intermediate hinge member, the axis of the swinging movement of the door during the progress of the opening movement thereof shifting to the pivotal connection between the door carried end hinge member and the intermediate hinge mem- 3. In'combination, a vehicle door and a frame therefor, and concealed hinges supporting said door in said frame, each hinge including an intermediate hinge member and two end hinge members pivotaliy connected with the intermediate.

member, one of the end hinge members being secured to the door and the other to the door frame, an intermediate link pivoted medially to said intermediate hinge member, end links pivotally connected with the ends of the intermediate link and with the end hinge members, and spring means interposed between the intermediate link and-the intermediate hinge member, the spring means of the respective hinges being oppositely arranged whereby the tension of the spring of one hinge opposes the tension of the spring of the other hinge, the diflerence of tension between the springs in certain positions 0! the door acting to initiate opening or closing movement thereof.

MAX JACOB. 

